But despite getting outplayed in every facet and going down 4-1 in the first 17 minutes, the Devils never lost faith.

"I thought Chicago, plain and simply, outcompeted us in the first period,' Devils coach John Hynes said. "We weren't engaged in the game, and then we just said we have to get ourselves engaged in the game to give ourselves a chance to comeback and because we got more engaged, we got more scoring opportunities. Fortunately the puck went in the net for us, and that gives you some life and some energy and some buy in that the competing is going to make a difference, and I think that's what turned it a little bit."

Wood's hat trick led the way offensively, and he kept the Devils alive with his first two goals in the first period. His second pulled them within 4-2 prior to intermission, and the Devils collectively said enough was enough.

"We battled hard in the second and the third," Hischier said. "That first period was a little bit (expletive). We came back out there strong and battled hard. At the end, really great team work. It's nice to be a part of this team. We can compete really good and get those Ws."

Devils teams in recent years may have folded once down 4-1. Mounting that big of a comeback is tough under any circumstances, but the 2017-18 version passed an early test.

"It would have been easy to hang on, hang on, hang on and then kind let them break us," Greene said. "But I thought it was important -- and we did -- for us to come out ready to play and give us a chance."

While the goals racked up offensively, the Devils slowed down the Blackhawks in their own end of the ice. They managed just one more goal over the final 40 minutes, with Patrick Kane chipping in a power play goal when the Devils were already up 6-4.

The Devils knew offense could take over the game for either team, and they trusted each of their lines to get the job done.

"Throughout the whole night we were a little loose defensively, and against a team like Chicago, they know how to run and gun really well," forward Taylor Hall said. "Even when I played on Edmonton, we had a lot of games that were shootouts for this group. Sometimes you don't play your best, but offensively you find a way to get some goals. At the end of the day, it's two points. We just keep banking points here at the start of the season and it's great to see."